Foldable ladder support



April 24, 1956 w. P. FLESHER FOLDABLE LADDER SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '7, 1955 ATTORNEY5 April 1956 w. P. FLESHER FOLDABLE LADDER SUPPORT Filed March 7, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WENDELL FLESHER BY Bea/ 5/0066 ATTORNE$5 United States Patent 2,743,049 FOLDABLE LADDER SUPPORT Wendell P. Flesher, Watseka, Ill. Application March 7, 1955, Serial No. 492,519 7 Claims. Cl. 228-64) This invention relates to ladders and more particularly to attachments for prop ladders such as step ladders.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved platform or base which may be attached to a ladder of the prop type to underlie and support the ladder in its operative position and to hold it securely in said position. Another object is to provide a folding ladder of the prop type to support it in operative position, and which, while attached to the ladder portion and to the prop portion may be folded between these portions for transportation or storage. Another object is to provide such a base or platform which is readily adaptable to propped ladders of different sizes. 2

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a preferred embodiment of the invention attached to a step ladder, the step ladder being opened in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a side view to smaller scale of the step ladder and platform of Fig. l in the folded condition; and

Fig. 3 is an exploded plan view of the parts which go to i make up a supporting base or platform of the type shown in Figures 1 and 2, but differing slightly in size and proportions therefrom.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or similar parts throughout the several views, there is shown a conventional step ladder designated generally having a ladder portion 11 and a prop portion 12 hinged thereto. Pivotally connected to the lower ends of the legs or stiles of the ladder portion at 13 and 14, and to the lower ends of the legs of the prop portion at 15 and 16, is a folding support or base generally designated made in accordance with my invention.

The folding base or platform 20 comprises a ladder support section or leaf 21 and a prop support section or leaf 22 hinged together at 23a23a. Ladder support section 21 underlies ladder portion 11 and comprises a pair of substantially parallel ladder leg support members 21a and 21b, each of which underlies and supports one of the legs or stiles or ladder portion 11. Ladder leg support members 21a and 21b are secured together by adjustable cross braces 21c and 21d and have brackets 24 and 25,

1 respectively, adjustably fixed to their upper surfaces. As

shown in the drawings, longitudinal adjustment is provided by slots in the brackets, with clamp screws through each slot, as at 24a and 25a. Brackets 24 and 25 are pivotally attached at 13 and 14 to the lower ends of a ladder 11. These pivotal connections are sufiiciently loose so that, in the operative position illustrated in Fig. 1, the bottoms of ladder portion 11 actually rest upon members 21a and 21b respectively.

Similarly, prop support section or leaf 22 comprises a pair of substantially parallel members 22a and 22b secured together by adjustable cross brace 22c and having brackets 26 and 27 adjustably secured thereto for longitudinal adjustment as at 26a and 27a, the two legsof prop 1 2 1 the manner illustrated in Fig. l.

2,743,049 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 being pivotally connected respectively to brackets 26 and 27 at 15 and 16, respectively. Pivotal connections 15 and 16 are also preferably sufiiciently loose so that the bottoms of prop 12 actually rest upon members 22a and 22b in the operative position illustrated in Fig. 1.

Ladder supporting section 21 and prop support section 22 are arranged for telescopic adjustment so that they may be attached to ladders of different sizes, members 21a and 21b being slotted as indicated at 21c, and members 22a and 22b having tongue portions 22d which are slidable within grooves 21e when pivot members 23 are removed; Adjacent their inner ends, members 21a and 21b have a plurality of spaced holes 28 extending transversely therethrough on both sides of slots 22d. Adjacent their inner ends, members 22a and 22b likewise have a plurality of spaced holes 29 extending transversely therethrough. The spacing of holes 28 and 29 is the same and equal to the spacing of the parallel sides 23a and 23b of J-shaped members 23. Fig. 3 clearly shows the spacing of holes 28 and 29 and the corresponding spacing of sides 23a and 23b. Thus, the ladder support and the prop support section may be telescopically adjusted with respect to each other so as to underlie step ladders of different sizes. Brackets 24, 25, 26, and 27 may also be adjusted longitudinally due to the elongated slot and screw fastening means indicated a 24a, 25a, 26a, and 27a. Cross braces 21c, 21d and 220 are made in two parts with suitable slot and clamp arrangements best seen in Fig. 3, so that the widths of leaves 21 and 22 may be adjusted for step ladders of varying widths. Due to the adjustment means described, folding platform 20 may be adjusted to fit step ladders which vary considerably in size.

Each J-shaped member 23 comprises a pivot pin side 23a and a lock pin side 23b. The end of portion 23a is threaded so that after it is extended through the proper holes 28 and 29 a spring 230 and a wing nut and washer 23d may be attached for biasing the hook shaped portion of member 23 toward the platform or base. Lock portion 23b may be guided so as to enter a'matching set of holes 28 and 29 adjacent to the set throughwhich portion 23a extends to lock sections 21 and 22 in extended position in Similarly, both of members 23 may be withdrawn sufficiently to disengage portions 23b, whereupon support sections 21 and 22 may be folded about pivot pin sides 23a between the ladder and prop sections of the step ladder in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. For convenience in folding, a flexible lift member 30 such as a rope or chain may be attached between cross brace 21d and the conventional upper brace 31 of the step ladder.

If desired, cross braces 21c, 21d and 22c may be omitted, thus making a two-part folding support comprising a foldable right side support and a foldable left side support which are held in position by attachment to the respective ladder and prop legs, the tongue and slot construction 22d21e and pivot member 23 cooperating in each side support to hold the pivoted inner ends of the leg support members together. In this two-part support arrangement it is convenient to connect the inner ends of two of the leg support elements with a flexible member such as a chain or rope, and to connect this flexible member to conventional brace 31 by another flexible member.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments are possible within the spirit of the invention as defined by'the appended claims. For example, and without limitation, sections 21 and 22 may be imperforate fiat sheets hinged together at their inner ends. Likewise, the invention is applicable to the type of three legged prop ladder which has a single prop leg. Other embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilledin the art.

It will be seen that I have provided a lightweight and convenient folding ladder support which iiii'de'rli'e's and lends rigidity to a propped ladder when in use and which folds between the ladder parts for transportation or storage.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a foldable prop-type 1adder, said ladder having a ladder section and a prop section hingedly connected thereto, each said section being adapted to rest on the ground to support said ladder when the same is extended in operative position, comprising a foldable base'pivot'ally attachable to said ladder to underlie and support it in said operative position and to fold with it for storage, said base comprising two leaves each having an outer support end for underlyingone of said sections in said operative position, said leaves being hingedly connected to eachother, said support ends each having pivotal attachment means for pivotally attaching said respective leaves to the lower ends of the respective ladder and prop sections of said ladder, whereby said foldable base may be pivotally attached to said ladder to underlie and support it in operative position and to fold with it for storage.

2. A foldable platform attachment for underlying and supporting a folding step ladder when the latter is in operative position, said step ladder having a ladder portion and a prop portion hingedly connected thereto, each of said portions having at least one leg with a lower end portion, comprising: a ladder support section, a prop support section hinged to said ladder support section, said sections being substantially flat and adapted when extended in operative position to rest on a floor and underlie said step ladder, brackets fixed to the upper surfaces of said sections one for each of said lower end portions of said step ladder, said brackets being disposed on said sections in positions adjacent the corresponding of said lower end portions when said step ladder is opened in operative position and disposed on said platform, and pivot means one for each of said brackets for pivo-tally connecting each of said lower end portions with itscorresponding support section of said folding platform; whereby said platform may be attached to said step ladder to underlie and support it in said operative position and to fold with it for storage.

3. A foldable platform attachment for underlying and supporting a foldable step ladder when the latter is in operative position disposed on said platform, said step ladder having a ladder portion with a pair of stiles and a prop portion hingedly connected to said ladder portion, said prop portion having a pair of legs, comprising: a pair of parallel ladder support rails each for underlying and supporting adjacent its outer end one of said stiles, a cross brace connecting said ladder support rails, a pair of parallel prop support rails each for underlying and supporting adjacent its outer end one of said legs, a cross brace connecting said prop support rails, the inner portion of one of said ladder supportrails being disposed adjacent the inner portion of one of said prop support rails on one side of said platform, the inner portion of the other of said ladder support rails being disposed adjacent the inner portion of the other of said prop support rails on the other side of saidplatform, pivot means on each side of said platformconnecting respectively said adjacent inner portions of said'rails, and means for pivotally attaching each of said stiles and legs to its underlying support rail when said step ledder is in said operative position disposed on said platform; whereby said foldable platform may be attached to said foldable step ladder to underlie and support it in operative position and to fold on said pivot means between said ladder portion and said prop portion.

4. A foldable ladder support for attachment to a'=' step ladder, said step ladder comprising a ladder portion having right and left legs rigidly connected to each other and a prop portion having right and left legs rigidly attached to each other, said portions being hingedly connectedto each other, comprising: a right side support for underlying and supporting [said right legs, a left side support for underlying and supporting said left legs, each of said side supports comprising a front ladder leg support a rear prop leg support and support pivot means pivotally connecting said front and rear leg supports adjacent their inner ends, and pivoted attachment means for pivotally attaching said foldable ladder support to said step ladder comprising a bracket for each said leg support fixed thereto adjacent its outer end and a pivot on each said bracket for pivotally connecting said bracket to its corresponding leg when said step ladder is spread open in operative positi'onand'disp'osed on said foldable ladder support with each said leg resting on its corresponding leg support; whereby said foldable ladder support may be attached to said step ladder to underlie and support it in operative position andto fold between said ladder and prop portions when said ladder is folded.

5. A foldable=laddersupport in accordance with claim 4 wherein each said leg support has a plurality of equally spaced apertures extending transversely therethrough adjacent its inner end, and said support pivot means pivotally connecting said front and rear leg supports comprises a pivot pinextending through one of said apertures in said front ladder leg support and one of said apertures in said rear prop support; whereby each of said pivot pins may be placed in selected apertures of said respective legsupports to adjust the'length of said side supports for step ladders of different sizes.

6. A foldable ladder support in accordance with claim 5 wherein a cross brace connects said front ladder leg supports and another cross brace connectssaid rear prop leg supports.

7 A foldable ladder support for attachment to a step ladder, said step ladder comprising a ladder portion at the front having right and left ladder legs and a prop portion at the rear having right and left prop legs, said right legs of said ladder and prop portions being hingedly connected to each other at their top ends on the right side of said step ladder, said left legs of said ladder and prop portions being hingedly connected to each other at their top ends on the left side of said ladder, comprising: a ladder portion support at the front of said ladder support, a prop portion support at the rear of said ladder support, support pivot means pivotally connecting said portion supports, andpivotal attachmentmeans for pivotally attaching said foldable ladder support to said step ladder; said ladder portion support comprising right and left ladder leg supports for underlying and supporting rcspectively said right and left ladder legs and a cross brace connecting said ladder leg supports, said prop portion support comprising. right and left propleg supports for underlying and supporting respectively said right and left prop legs and a cross brace connecting said prop leg supports, saidsupport pivot means comprising a right pivot mcmber for pivotally connecting said right leg supports of said ladder and prop portion supports, and a left pivot member for pivotally connecting said left leg supports of said ladder and-prop portion supports, said right leg supports of said ladder and prop portion supports constituting a right support pair, said left leg supports of said ladder and prop portion supports constituting a left support pair, in each said pair one of said leg supportsuhaving an inner end portion with a slot therein and the other of said leg supports having an inner end portion with a tongue fitting telescopically in said slot, each said leg support having in its inner end portion a plurality of equally spaced pivot apertures extending transversely therethrough, each said pivot member being of J-shaped configuration with a pivot pin side and a parallel shorter locking pin side, said sides of said pivot member being spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of said equally; spaced pivot apertures, said pivotal attachment means-for pivotally a'ttaclrii'ng sa'id foldable ladder supporttosaid step ladder comprising a bracket for each said leg support fixed thereto adjacent its outer end and a pivot on each said bracket for pivotally connecting each said bracket to its corresponding leg when said step ladder is spread open in operative position and disposed on said foldable ladder support with each said leg resting on its corresponding leg support; whereby both said support pairs may be adjusted telescopically to align selected adjacent pairs of pivot apertures in their slotted ends with selected adjacent pairs .of apertures in their tongue ends, said pivot members may be inserted in said 10 I l I 6 selected pairs of adjacent apertures with said pivot pin sides aligned to lock said foldable ladder support in ladder supporting position, said foldable ladder support may be attached to said step ladder, and said pivot members may be partially withdrawn to disengage said locking pin sides so that said ladder support may be folded between said step ladder portions when'said step ladder is folded.

No references cited. 

